Key clinical point: Compared with mild atopic dermatitis (AD), severe AD results in an increased risk for overall morbidity.
Major finding: Patients with severe vs mild AD had a significantly increased risk for other dermatitis, extragenital herpes, urticaria, impetigo, cellulitis, varicella zoster virus, abscess, sepsis, conjunctivitis, alopecia areata, asthma, allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis, stress-related and somatoform diseases, intervertebral disc disorders, osteoporosis, and lymphomas (all P < .001), as well as condylomas, rosacea, certain psychiatric disorders, migraine, sleep apnea, other sleep disorders, hypertension, atherosclerosis, enthesopathies, and drug-induced cataract (all P < .05). However, patients with moderate or severe vs mild AD had a lower risk for prostate cancer ( P < .05).
Study details: The data come from a retrospective real-world cohort study including 124,038 patients with mild (n = 53,046), moderate (n = 46,296), or severe (n = 24,696) AD.
Disclosures: This study was sponsored by AbbVie. Some authors reported ties, including employment and stock ownership, with AbbVie and others.
Source: Kiiski V et al. Effect of disease severity on comorbid conditions in atopic dermatitis: Nationwide registry-based investigation in Finnish adults. Acta Derm Venereol. 2023;103:adv00882 (Mar 8). Doi: 10.2340/actadv.v103.4447